Speedzilla Forums banner

Why are DOT Race tires so freaking expensive

1K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  lushbaugh-00'748 
#1 ·
I have been looking for a set of DOT race tires (michelin or Bridgestone) for my RS250 and I am not able to find anything for less than $425-$450, in some cases higher than that for shipping.

The street versions of the same tires can be had for half that price.

I do not remember such a price difference 8-10 years ago from my WERA/CCS days.
Are the tires much cheaper at the track (Racer price)?
 
#7 ·
It's weird you mentioned that. Tyres for the Bimmer (Michelin Pilot Road 2) went from 280€ per set last Fall to 260€ per set this May. Pirelli Angel ST were similarly reduced. Apparently the economic landscape forced them to slash prices to avoid losing customers to those fantastic Chinese tyre manufacturers... :wacky
 
#6 ·
Most trackday providers have tire guys on site and offer tires at racer prices to customers regardless of whether they have a racer license. At least here in CA. I can get a set of Diablo Supercorsas mounted for $385.
 
#9 ·
Tires:
I switched my DOT race tires for High Performance street tires
for the track and the street after reading Sport Riders shoot out
where they sampled all the different tire categories to test
how they stack up... In summary

They gathered a lot of data during this test and learned a lot about each
tire and our own preferences for tires. Much of the objective data show
the more track-oriented tires to be superior when it comes to lap times
or speed,and certainly that is the case. However,on both street and
track that increasing performance comes with more of a requirement
from the rider. Setup is more important with the grippier tires, stability
and compliance suffer,and conditions have to be just right to access
that extra traction. Over 80 percent of our street test loop,the four
types of tires averaged within a couple mph of one another,a strong indication
that factors other than what tire you are on dictate your pace on the road.

Surprise No.1 for us was just how capable the sport-touring tires are,
especially on the street. If you're not looking for that last
10 percent of performance from your bike,sport-touring tires have
excellent traction and predictability and will provide thousands of
miles of use.

Surprise NO.2 was how good sport tires were on the track. Both
brands provided great,consistent performance,lapping an average of
just a half-second off the DOT race buns. They carded the best scores
on the street portion of the test and required little in the way of
set up to get comfortable with.

Surprise NO.3 was just how much the DOT race tires sacrificed on
the street compared with the sport and hybrid tires. Neither of our
riders felt comfortable on the majority of the test loop with the race
tires, and even though the tires have incredible grip levels and are amazingly
fun on a fast,smooth road,that performance is not worth the trade off
that must be made the rest of the time. At the race track the DOT race
tires are clearly a step above the street tires, and there is even
more of a performance gap than our lap times indicate-both our riders
felt they could go faster than they did with more set up time. Again,that is the
price that must be paid for great grip and steering from a race tire.

The final piece of the puzzle is this: To get the best performance,
you must be honest with yourself when it comes to choosing a tire.
They given you the answers. You just need to figure out what questions
to ask yourself. As you can see the rated traction difference between
your Dunlop Qualifier and a Dunlop DOT race tire is just 3/10ths of a point...
not a whole lot to worry about in my opinion... in fact average lap times
where better than the next rated Dunlop... the 208Gp...


SPORT-TOURING
DUNLOP D220ST AND MICHELIN PILOT ROAD
Rating Street: 78.7 Track: 75.5 Average lap time: 1:12.72

......Street v Track
General:. 7.7 7.5
Braking;. 8.0 8.0
Traction; 7.9 7.8
Steering; 7.6 7.2

SPORT
DUNLOP SPORT MAX QUALIFIER AND MICHELIN PILOT POWER
Rating Street:89.5 Track:87.3 Average lap time: 1:08.90

......Street v Track
General:. 9.0 8.9
Braking;. 8.9 8.7
Traction; 9.0 8.7
Steering; 8.8 8.4

HIGH-PERFORMANCE SPORT
DUNLOP D208GP AND MICHELIN PILOT POWER 2CT
Rating Street:89.3 Track:88.8 Average lap time: 1:08.97

......Street v Track
General:. 8.8 8.8
Braking;. 9.0 9.0
Traction; 9.2 8.9
Steering; 8.6 8.8

DOT RACE
DUNLOP SPORT MAXGP AND MICHELIN POWER RACE
Rating Street:89.4 Track:92.8 Average lap time: 1:08.447

......Street v Track
General:. 8.4 9.1
Braking;. 9.3 9.5
Traction; 9.3 9.6
Steering; 9.3 9.3

RACE SLICKS
DUNLOP KR106/108 AND MICHELIN PILOT
Rating Street: NAT rack:93.2 Average lap time: 1:08.23

.........Track
General:. 9.0
Braking;. 9.5
Traction; 9.9
Steering; 9.1

The only trouble is now I have to ante up $600 a set of street tires...
because I can't live without the new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP that come
stock on some Ducati 848 the 'SP' means Sport Production compound...
they are only available through a Ducati dealer or Parts Unlimited...

What the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP delivers is the best of both
worlds... the DOT race tire's accuracy of line and confidence in
grip... coupled with the Street tire's envelope that has been
stretched so that it reaches the operating temperature range
earlier... plus it operates over a wide temperate range plus
unlimited heat cycles...

PIRELLIMoto - DIABLO SUPERCORSA SP

 
#11 ·
The preferable V profile Michelin is only avail in a competition/race tire. The steep profile makes for easier turn-in and greater stability in sweepers. I gladly replaced the Power Pure front on my '08 CBR1000RR street bike with a PRC front (same as Power One Comp V). Bike handled much better with the steeper profile.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top